If you're traveling this year, perhaps the one major difference you'll find is in the currency. Travel through the 12 participating countries and you won't have to go through the hassle of converting currencies because the Euro is now their official monetary unit. The participating countries and the old currency values representing one Euro are shown below.
Country--Old
Currency Rate
Belgium--Belgian
franc 44.3399
Greece--Greek
drachma 340.750
France--French
frank 6.55957
Italy--Italian
lira 1936.27
Netherlands--Dutch
guilder 2.20371
Portugal--Portuguese
escudo 200.482
Germany--Deutsche
Mark 1.95583
Spain--Spanish
peseta 166.386
Ireland--Irish
pound 0.787564
Luxembourg--Luxembourg
franc 40.3399
Austria--Austrian
schilling 13.7603
Finland--Finnish
markka 5.94573
But I still have old Bills from past trips! What do I do?
- If you're going to Europe this year, note that Dec. 31, 2002 will be the last day that commercial banks will accept old notes and coins.
- From 2003 onward, it will still be possible to exchange old currencies at each country's Central Bank.
Quick facts about the Euro:
- While all coins will have the same front face, each country may customize the backs of the 8 coins with forms of national identity. Here's how they all look.
- Notes are issued in seven denominations from 5 Euro though 500 Euro.
- Six coins representing fractional values of the Euro (cents) are circulated..
- Two Coins with the value 1 and 2 Euros are circulated.
- The size of the coins increases in size with their face value.
- Western European Nations not participating are: The United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Switzerland.
The Euro started out on par with the dollar. Where's it at now?
Well, as of late 2003, the Euro has just hit its high against the greenback at over 1.2 Euros to the Dollar. To see current rates, you can use XE.com's Universal Currency Converter.
